Hastings dad’s appeal for help

Dom's Mission set up by Dominic Warren to help poor families in the area

Published:12:09Wednesday 15 July 2015

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A dad’s online appeal to prevent families going hungry in Hastings has gained hundreds of supporters.

Dom’s Food Mission was created to appeal for food parcels to help local families in poverty who are going without their basic weekly groceries. Within six weeks it has gained 1,400 followers on Facebook, thanks to extraordinary public support.

It was set up by Dominic Warren, a father of two children, together with his fiancée Alex Millen.

He said: “I wanted to do something to help kids like mine who are going hungry, right on my doorstep. It’s terrible and shouldn’t be happening. I can’t save the world, but I can make a difference.

“I have a two year old son and a five year old daughter which makes me think about people like me who cannot afford to feed their families. It could be anyone that needs our help from a businessman, who once had everything and slowly loses it all, to a company director or dentist.

“A sports club donated £30 of chocolate which I had to quickly hide from my kids. I’ve been contacted by people from as far away as Southend asking how they can donate and I’ve put them in touch with local food banks.”

Dom advertises weekly collections on his online appeal page and has established 10 regular business donors. It has turned the household into a hectic warehouse, with food coming and going the whole time while the couple makes plans for their wedding in August. They pack the food into crates and deliver it to the Salvation Army as well as other food banks locally which are part of a national network of over 400 organisations providing emergency food to people in crisis.

Dom said: “There has been enough food passing through our kitchen to help a lot of people. The response from the public has been awesome, they’ve been brilliant.”

Dom works for UK Power Networks which encourages staff to use two paid days volunteering in their local community so he plans to use it to help local organisations which support families in need. He is also planning a sponsored skydive and bungee jump to raise money for his local community.

Food donations are welcome and a list can be viewed on Dom’s Facebook appeal page, by joining the group, or you can contact him directly via email dom_still@hotmail.com or his mobile 07792011372

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